GAZA CITY, Palestine

The UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) on Sunday appealed for financial support to provide services in the Gaza Strip.  

UNRWA Director in Gaza, Thomas White, said that three-quarters of Palestinians in Gaza depend on aid. 

“We need more support from the international community to continue providing services and open schools and health centers for refugees,” he told Anadolu during a tour in Gaza City. White noted that the UN agency provides food assistance to nearly 1.2 million Palestinian refugees in Gaza. 

The UNRWA director also hailed the Turkish provision of flour to the UN refugee agency.

“We look forward to receiving more aid to UNRWA to help Palestinian families in Gaza have bread on their tables,” he added. 

The UNRWA official noted that the UN agency received 289,000 students at its 288 schools in Gaza on Saturday at the start of the new school year. 

Over the past years, UNRWA went through several financial crises that affected its provision of services due to lack of funding.

Last June, the UN agency warned that its services are at risk of suspension amid continued lack of funding. 

Established in 1949 by a resolution from the UN General Assembly, UNRWA provides services for Palestinians in refugees camps in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.  

* Writing by Ahmed Asmar